A Vote of No Confidence
by Lone Wolf8
Summary: Glinda was tired of being the wizard's porcelain doll, his show pony, his figure head. She'd finally had enough. It was time for a... regime change!
1. It's good to see me, isn't it?

Author's Note:

This story takes place within a slightly altered universe to that of the traditional Wicked story. I wanted to have something that embraced what I loved about Wicked, but was different enough to not just be a retelling of the existing story.  
My story borrows elements of both the novel and the musical, some events have been altered, added, or subtracted from the storyline. Additionally, my story uses quite a bit of the traditional L. Frank Baum version of Oz.

If you liked this scene, please let me know, it will give me the drive to actually begin writing the rest of this story.

_This story is dedicated to Leiah, _

_one of my most treasured friends,_

_the only person I know who could satisfy my _

_Ozian Obsessions _

_in such a magical, wonderful way. _

**~ * ~ * ~ * ~ OZ ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~**

Outside the emerald palace things were far from wonderful. Almost three weeks ago, Glinda Upland, the celebrated Saint of Goodness for all of Oz, had disappeared. It happened right under the Wizard's nose, after he gallantly took her to the hospital in his own carriage and arranged a private room for her and a personal guard to ensure she was undisturbed while she recovered. Many asked what it was that she was recovering from, but the general masses assumed it simply to be a necessity due to the weak constitution many thought the cheery social butterfly had.  
She had swooned right at the key moment, right when the Wicked Witch herself had unexpectedly burst through one of the stained glass windows, sending shards of glass flying over the horrified audience and sending Ozian Guardsmen scrambling for their rifles. The witch had arrived just as the minister completed the hallowed phrase of "If anyone should have cause why this man and woman should not be married..."

Perhaps if Glinda hadn't swooned she might have found it down right cliché, unfortunately she'd fainted and didn't even get to see Elphaba's dramatic exit moments before that astounding entrance. After she collapsed everything became a state of pure chaos as cries of assassination, magic and conspiracy flew from panicked Ozian lips. The wedding had, of course, not gone through; with the bride unconscious and the guests in a state of wild disarray no one could even keep track of what was what. By the time order had been restored people realized that the noble groom, Sir Chuffrey, had in fact fled the church at the mere sight of the emerald sorceress. This act of cowardice had earned him just as much contempt in the eyes of the Glinda-loving public as the witch had for barging into Glinda's wedding.

Her Goodness was swiftly ushered off to an Emerald City hospital. A candle light vigil was held and outcries were made for the heads of the Wicked Witch and Sir Chuffrey as well. Rumors flew like wildfire on the grasslands of Oz, some said Glinda had been hexed by the Witch, others said Sir Chuffrey was in league with the witch and had poisoned Glinda before the wedding. Only the brightest of Ozians pointed out the most obvious of conclusions, that Chuffrey had run blind with fear and was now hiding from the public and hoping that his cowardice would be forgotten.

The reality was, perhaps, more tragic.

Glinda was pressured by society and politics. She had agreed to marry Chuffrey for the sake of image. She was, after all, a very intelligent woman; she knew that a married woman gained more influence and respect than a single one and that Sir Chuffrey's family name could help her in her efforts to make Oz a better place. It was a noble, but self-sacrificing, intension. She would marry him so that she could improve her station and do more for Oz than she was currently capable of achieving.

For five days before the wedding she'd stopped sleeping, getting only an hour or two of rest each evening. Three days before the wedding she stopped eating, drinking only water and the occasional glass of juice. By the morning of the ceremony Glinda could barely stand. To her delight, the lightheaded feeling and the dizziness made it much easier for her to plaster on that big smile and go through with the whole thing...even if it wasn't with the person she wanted to be with.

She pushed herself onward, seeing it through, walking down the aisle and standing next to the pompous politico while he preened for the gathered crowds and delighted in the trophy wife he was soon to have, then... then she came! She came just like in Glinda's dreams, the ones she'd been having for weeks before the ceremony, the reason for her inability to sleep at night. The green girl showed up right at that sweet but cliché moment when she was supposed to; Glinda's heart skipped a beat, quite literally, and she fainted.

The bubbly blonde woke up a day later. She was now in a hospital gown, in a hospital bed, weak and weary. She was both amused and a little irritated to learn that the Wizard had actually had guards posted outside her room to ensure she didn't have anyone interrupting her while she recovered; or so he claimed. She knew better.

He was a sweet man, a decent man... Or at least, he once was. When he first arrived it seemed like he actually did have Oz's best interest at heart. He was smart, charismatic and creative but power has a way of changing people and as the saying goes, absolute power corrupts absolutely. She'd seen him for what he truly was in recent days, over heard things when he didn't know she was near by. It was an heinous, hideous thing he had become; she wished she could help him, but then she wished she could help all of Oz.

It hadn't been her idea to be this. All she wanted was a rich, good looking husband who would support her and see to her needs, a social life surrounded by her peers and betters and attended to by her underlings and a nice home in the Emerald City. It had never crossed her mind that she could have more than this, it had certainly never even entered her blissful blonde brain that she could be a revered and worshiped saint of goodness and charity through all of Oz! No, none of this was her idea it was all her dear friend's. She'd said to her once "Glinda, you can do so much I cannot. You're soft and sweet and kind, you're beautiful and speak with a gilded tongue I could never hope to have. You can do all I cannot do."

That was what her dear, beloved, misunderstood friend had told her and it was all true. It was Elphaba who had inspired all this. Elphaba, who had led Glinda to be more than what she thought she could be, and now... Elphie had stopped it; Glinda still couldn't believe that Elphaba had actually come to the wedding, had showed up just at the right moment to keep it from happening, she was still watching, she still cared; it filled Glinda with a joy like she hadn't known in years. It was this joy that caused her to be so disappointed when she realized she was still in the Emerald City and that Elphaba hadn't simply swept her away as she'd so hoped the green girl would.

This was when she realized that she wanted Elphaba to take her away that the truth finally hit home for Glinda. She didn't like who she'd become. She was tired of being the show pony the wizard marched out in front of the crowds for their delight and adoration. She was sick of being his porcelain puppet and she was tired of being silent witness to his atrocities behind the high walls of the Emerald Palace. She was tired of accepting the limits of her station as the wizard's wonderful magical advisor, she was sick of pretending to do good things while actually being restrained from doing anything to upset the "delicate balance in Oz" that the Wizard and and his carp-faced press secretary always reminded her of. Then she thought of it... the delicate balance in Oz, if it was so delicate then what ever would happen if she chose to tip the scales in her favor?

As she considered this, Glinda the Good gave the first real smile she'd managed in a very long time. It was not the bright, perky plastic expression she showed the public. It was a sly grin, a cunning smile that one might expect to be more readily present on the viridian lips of Elphaba Thropp. Even on Elphaba's lips though, this smile would seem out of place. It was aggressive, even wicked, and those with personal experience in the field would recognize it for what it was; the smile of a scheming political expert.

Glinda the Good was finally ready to shed herself of all the pomp and circumstance. She was finally ready to stop being a little porcelain doll the Wizard paraded out in front of crowds for cheers and applause. She was ready to become what for so long she had pretended to be. The ears of all of Oz listened when she spoke; she was the most popular, the most influential, the most respected woman within her circles and within the eyes of the public. The wizard used her as a figure head, but the more he paraded her around the more power he surrendered to her; for too long now she had ignored that power and been content to play the wizard's show pony but no more. She was more than just a figure head, and now she was going to prove it.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Within a half hour of her abrupt disappearance from her hospital room every gossip in the Emerald City knew that Glinda the Good had vanished, while under guard no less! It was the talk of the town and at first people thought she'd turn up, as she always did, when she was needed. After two days with no sign of her, however, word began to grow more pessimistic. Some thought the witch had kidnapped her, others thought Sir Chuffrey's cowardly display had humiliated her so greatly that Glinda had gone into hiding... And once more, the most intelligent Ozian's asked why anyone else had to be behind Glinda's sudden disappearance; could it not be possible that the glorious Glinda would choose to disappear for her own reasons?

Of course, the most sensible voices were always lost in the buzz of rumors and hearsay and after a week of trying the intelligent commentators gave up. Thus was the state of the Emerald City when Glinda did return, nothing but rumors and hearsay with no level headed replies to offset the word of mouth. Some had even come to believe Glinda was dead, and everyone was demanding to know why the Wizard didn't seem to be making an effort to find her.

Knowing all this, one can only imagine the reactions in the crowd of protesters outside the palace when someone suddenly shouted with surprise "LOOK! It's Glinda!"

First the voices rose to a cacophony, then they went to awed silence as everyone watched the glossy shimmering bubble drifting down towards them on the breeze.

"Hello everyone!" Glinda cried chipperly as the crowd spread open to give her room to land, standing at the very core of the assembled masses.

The moment she touched down she was bombarded with cheers, outcries and questions. In response the diminutive but refined woman lifted her head, lifted her hands, and cleared her throat. Silence fell over the crowd as Glinda turned her eyes upon an upended vegetable cart. With a single whispered word and the guidance of her upraised index finger the cart was suddenly transformed into a podium. People gasped, 'Ooh'ed and 'Aah'ed, and crowded even closer at the display of magic from Glinda in a time when public displays of sorcerery were outlawed. Only Glinda the Good herself could be so bold as to do something like this and not expect a repercussion from the anti-magic ministry.

Smiling triumphantly at how well her little trick had worked to capture the attention of the crowd, Glinda stepped up behind the podium onto the little up-step behind it that allowed her to look out over the crowd and properly see everyone.

"Fellow Ozians! I know you all have questions, I know you are all frightened, and uncertain in these troubled times. We have not seen unrest like this since the days of Queen Ozma's reign, have we?"

Murmurs of agreement rippled through the crowd and far at the back of the growing throng of people two silent witnesses watched in perplexed bewilderment at Glinda's sudden appearance. The farm girl watched in rapt fascination as the blonde addressed the masses and marveled at Glinda's sudden display of authority and control over the swarm of Ozian citizens.

"What in dragon's den is she up to?" Fiyero whispered quietly.

"Shh... We can't draw attention to ourselves, if mother knows I'm here she might lose her concentration!" Dorothy hissed back, moving slightly behind Fiyero so that Glinda would be less likely to notice her.

Glinda looked out over the crowds and flashed one of her dazzling public-place smiles.

"Fellow Ozians!" She repeated, "I know that in these troubled times we look for leadership, we look for strength! We look for someone who can take care of us and tell us how better to take care of ourselves! And fellow Ozians... We. **Are being**. _**Misled!**_" She declared each word with more finality than the last and her sparkling blue eyes glinted with satisfaction with the shocked gasp that rippled out of the crowd.

"Think for yourselves, my dear friends! What does he do, in that grand old palace of his? Who does he have us look to in horror and fright! THE WITCH!" She cried, leaning forward over the podium while another started gasp rolled through the crowd like thunder at the head of a summer storm. "Yes, my friends, yes! The witch? She's nothing. She's just an old magician flitting around on a broomstick; sure she's real enough, but, has she ever done something to make you fear her?" Glinda cried, extending her arms in question.

For a moment there was silence, then whispers rolled through the crowd, layered with question and uncertainty.

"I dare say I know almost every person here amongst us today!" Glinda declared with another bright smile. "After all, I've made it my task in life to know you, to help better you and show you the way to a better life! But my fellow Ozians... I have failed you."

This statement earned an outcry of dismay from many and sudden shouts of encouragement to Glinda, trying to tell her she hadn't failed them.

"No! No, do not try to tell me other wise! I have failed you, my friends! I've spent time trying to make you better, when I should show you the way to better yourselves! Now I am trying to make up for that my friends, by asking you to think for yourselves!" Glinda cried with growing passion and enthusiasm. "Think about what you know of this so called 'wicked' witch! Miss Marylin Goldwell, I see you there, my favorite florist in the Emerald City! Tell me, Marylin what has the witch done to make you fear her?"

"Well..." The old florist replied thoughtfully. "She burned the farms in the Quadling country!"

Glinda gasped in shock and clapped her hands to her face. "Oh no, how outrageous!" She exclaimed as if she had not thought of this act of villainy before now, but then she paused, she let the moment hang just long enough for everyone to become even more enthralled to hear her speak again. "...Did you ever see her do it?"

"What?" The florist exclaimed in a sort of squawk of surprise that reminded Glinda of a chicken and made her force a giggle back down her throat.

"Did you ever see her burn the farms?" Glinda repeated sweetly.

"Well... No." Marylin replied.

"Hmmm!" was Glinda's thoughtful mono-syllabic response before turning her gaze out to the rest of the crowd. "Biron Ottel; you, my most favored of tailors, what has the witch done to make you fear her?"

"Well..." the bespectacled old man replied thoughtfully. "She terrorizes people traveling across the country to come and visit my shop here in the city, and I fear she may one day begin to kill my customers!"

"One day... One day I might decide to fund a revolution and overthrow the Wizard of Oz!" Glinda exclaimed in a tone that implied 'isn't that a silly idea' rather than any true menace.

Fiyero and Dorothy gasped and exchanged wide eyed expressions before looking back up toward Glinda as she continued her questioning of the gathered masses.

"Biron, have any of your terrified customers ever showed up bearing an injury that proves the witch was harassing them out on the roads as they made their way to the capitol?"

"Well, no, your Goodness, they haven't..." Biron confessed.

"Hmmm!" Glinda repeated with a clever grin. "So, would it be unfair of me to wonder if perhaps they simply saw the witch flying on that ratty old broom of hers and took to their heels in fright?"

"I... I suppose that might be a fair assumption, your Goodness!"

"How very curious! What about you, Odmond Longshanks, you who I know to be a fine fisherman who spends many days at a time out in the wide rivers and lakes all around our fair country. Have you ever had reason to fear the witch in your travels?"

"Well, frankly, Miss Glinda I've never once been led to think the witch is anything more than some crazy green skinned loony flying around on an old house wife's kitchen broom." the country fisherman replied candidly.

A murmur of shock now went through the crowd while Glinda's smile grew even larger. "Now my friends! I ask you... While the witch causes terror by the mere sight of her, but never seems to do any real damage... Who **has** caused damage for you and yours? Marylin, when the flower gardens of Munchkinland had a bad season and you weren't turning enough profit to keep yourself going, what happened?"

"Why I went to the church of St. Glinda for aid, your goodness!" the old florist replied with an adoring smile. "You helped me afford my taxes that year after they had been raised."

"Oh my... raised taxes when business was poor, that must have been hard for you. And you, dear Biron, didn't you have similar problems that year?"

"Yes, your Goodness I did!" Biron admitted with a faint blush to his cheeks.

"How dreadfully upsetting for you." Glinda cooed sympathetically. "Odmond, what about you, last year you didn't get as good a fishing crop did you?"

"No, Miss Glinda, I didn't." the fisherman replied, showing no sense of shame or fear in confessing his reasons. "Because the Wizard's water bureau dammed up one of the finest streams in the area and destroyed a prime fishing ground that I and a dozen other hard working fisherman all used to rely upon!"

"Oh mercy me, that sounds just awful. So... We have all these problems, but the witch isn't to blame for any of them. So I wonder, why is it that the Ozian government makes such a whoop-de-doo about this so called wicked witch?"

Suddenly the crowd was a buzz with questions and muttered words of agreement with Glinda's curiosities about the wizard's government. Just as people seemed ready to ask for more information, and Glinda seemed ready to give it, the impromptu political meeting was forced to a close by a booming voice.

"Attention!!" the voice of a bellowing guard captain shouted as a troop of the Wizard's personal guards made their way forward through the gathered masses. "This is an unregistered meeting blocking a public thorough fare!"

For a moment the guard captain paused, shifting nervously on his feet as he looked up at Glinda. "I do not mean to interrupt the celebration of your much needed return to our graces, your Goodness, but this party is causing a public nuisance by remaining in the streets."

Glinda looked around. No one seemed to mind the crowd, in fact every carriage that had made it's way up the street had come to a full stop, the passengers disembarking to climb up on top of the cabs in order to get a better look and better hear the good sorceress as she spoke to the crowd. Disapproving growls and whispers echoed through the crowd and the wizard's guards gripped their rifles a bit tighter, but just as people seemed ready to forcibly resist the guards orders to disperse Glinda stepped down from her podium.

"I'm very sorry, Captain." She said apologetically, curtsying to the captain and his guardsmen, "None of us meant to cause a disturbance."

"That's quite all right, your goodness!" the guard exclaimed, calming down greatly and even smiling at the short stateured blonde. "We're all very pleased to have you back amongst us. The wizard was getting worried about you, we all were."

Glinda gave another of her beautiful, kind smiles and gave her head a thoughtful nod that sent her golden curls to bouncing. "Yes, yes I'm sure you were and I'm sure the Wizard must be so pleased to have me back... But he shouldn't be."

The guard captain blinked rapidly in confusion, "Pardon, your goodness?" he asked, taken aback.

"I wonder, Captain, would you deliver a message to the Wizard for me?"

"Of course, your Goodness..." The captain replied, the confusion still evident on his face.

"Here it comes..." Fiyero whispered quietly to Dorothy. "Come on, we need to get moving before the reactions begin."

"Reactions to what?" Dorothy whispered, just as confused as the guard.

"Just come on!" Fiyero persisted, taking Dorothy's hand and pulling her through the crowds to begin making their way down the street.

Behind the two escaping witnesses Glinda the goods final words fell from her pretty pink lips, and the entire crowd exploded in an uproar of shock, dismay, and even some approval. Glinda had said the words that would bring about the change in all of Oz.

"Kindly inform the Wizard, Captain." She said, in clear, curt, precise words. "That the Church of St. Glinda; and I, Glinda the Good, are moving for a vote of no confidence in the wizard's leadership abilities."

After the initial shock had dissipated Glinda lifted her hands for silence, while the guard captain stood transfixed before her looking as stunned as if someone had just run up and slapped him in the face with a wriggling halibut.

"And I, Glinda the Good," she emphasized her name and title again, "will be vying to replace him as political leader for Oz."

Another roar of surprise rumbled through the crowd, this time accompanied by shocked whispers, shouts of encouragement and even a few people chanting Glinda's name in unabashed support of her newly begun campaign.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ OZ ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Author's Note:  
I hope you've enjoyed this little bit of fiction. If you liked it, please leave me a review, If you didn't like it, please leave me a review! My only request is, like it or hate it, make your review beneficial to me. Tell me what you liked or disliked, and why. I want to be able to improve my writing however I can, and if all I ever here was "I loved it!" or "It sucks." how can I ever improve myself?


	2. Let's go down to the Oz Dust!

Author's Notes: Whew! Well this took longer than I anticipated, my grand mother's death, sadly, prevented me from working on this for awhile.

I was encouraged to press on by just two reviews... Normally it takes more than that to make me want to continue but, Lioness has questions about the background of this story and I intend to provide them; and LadyRyn? Gosh, where to begin? Thank you so very, very much for providing such an honest, helpful, kind review of my story.

Before we begin I again remind my readers that I am using more than just Wicked for inspiration, I'm also using the traditional books of Oz by Baum and the author's who followed in his footsteps, if you need to take detour to Wikipedia to understand the backgrounds of some of my versions of characters by all means do so; my Glinda especially is a bit different from the traditional Wicked variant.

_Dedicated to Gayle Pribno Samusson, _

_one of the worlds classiest, _

_crassest, _

_and all around most wonderful ladies. _

_You will be missed. _

_**~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ OZ ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~**_

It had been a terrible mistake, letting Pfanee and ShenShen lure her away after all that work and effort. She'd been swayed by just a single moment of doubt, one tiny inkling of uncertainty had been all it took to shook her conviction at that young age.

Just that morning she had given herself entirely to the task of ensuring she and Elphaba Thropp attended the Oz Dust ball together and now, like a typical society twit, she'd allowed her flighty friends to lure away for gossip and rumor-mongering. Of course, it wasn't their fault—actually they couldn't be blamed at all—she had allowed herself to be dragged off all of her own accord. When she finally managed to tear herself away from that little social circle, the gaggle of air-headed self-absorbed society folk, she found that... she was alone.

Her loyal friend, Boq, one a very persistent courter for her affection, informed her that Elphaba had left... With Fiyero. Fiyero!? She barely knew the man! It baffled Galinda to learn who Elphie had left the party with, until Boq explained that the two had left platonically; this news would make later realizations even more painful for the gillikinese beauty.

"Elphaba was the one who suggested they leave," Boq had explained calmly to the rather distressed blonde, "He was sitting in a corner, she was sitting in a corner, they began to chat and I joined them for a short time; it was shortly after that that Elphaba said she was leaving. She said she didn't feel like this was the sort of place she belonged at, and Fiyero agreed and offered to escort her back to her room."

The news calmed Galinda, but it also made her feel even worse, she'd worked so hard to ensure Elphaba would be able to have a good time at the party then she had abandoned the green girl to drink spiked punch and gossip! She felt dreadful, and she left the party herself shortly there after, Boq offered to escort her as Fiyero had escorted Elphaba but she declined his kindness saying that she needed to clear her head. As Galinda left the party she wandered the moonlight path ways from the OzDust ballroom back up toward the girls dormitories, thinking back over the days leading up to the party; not fitting in was the same reason Elphaba had given for not wanting to go in the first place. . .

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

"Come now, Miss Elphaba, how can you have nothing but frocks every single day? You can't expect to go to the Oz Dust ball wearing one of those ratty old things!" Galinda had quipped haughtily one morning a week before the ball. The blonde sat at her vanity, flouncing and tossing her hair and looking at Elphaba in the reflection of her mirror.

"Pft!" Elphaba had snorted, an amused smirk tugging at the right corner of her mouth. "I don't expect to be going to that ridiculous party at all, Galinda."

"What?!" Galinda shrieked, looking aghast at the idea of missing an event, "But it's the height of the Shiz Social Season!"

"Galinda," Elphaba began calmly, a depressed smiling taking her expression, "I have, as you said, nothing to wear. I would have nothing to do at such a meaningless event. Oh, and lest we forget the most important thing about such social obligations, I have no one to take."

The statement gave Galinda pause, it was true Elphaba had no date, but what really caught Galinda's attention was the way Elphaba had phrased the statement; 'I would have no one to take' as if it were she who would do the inviting to such an event even though it was standard and even expected for the man to do the inviting. She thought on this for a moment; though she often seemed blissfully ignorant and unaware of the world around her Galinda was actually quite a sharp woman, especially when it came to sociology and personality.

"Well..." She said slowly, trying to be tactful and gentle in her response, "How do you know you don't have someone to take."

"Because no ones asked me." Elphaba replied tersely.

"That's not what you said a moment ago."

Elphaba resigned to set down her book and give Galinda her undivided attention. "What are you on about, Galinda?"

Galinda gave one of her soft, soothing, schmoozer smiles that always put people at ease. "Miss Elphaba, you did quite plainly say that you would have no one to take; that would suggest to me that you have someone you know you'd like to go with who has not asked you to go... Or who would not, thus you would be forced to be the one doing the inviting."

Elphaba stared at her roommate in awe, truly dumbstruck by the solidity and rationality of Galinda's deductive reasoning. "...You've been reading my books while I'm at class, haven't you?" Elphaba hazarded with a playful smile, trying to break the sudden awkward silence with a bit of humor.

"Oh Elphie!" Said a now flustered Galinda, rising from her seat and throwing herself upon Galinda's drab gray-tan bed spread. "I'm trying to be serious. How can you know you have no one to take if you haven't asked?"

"I just know."

"Oh really?"

"Yes. Really." Elphaba stated in an 'end of discussion' tone.

Galinda huffed, cupped her chin in her hands, and pouted prominently for a few moments before breaking the silence again. "It just seems like you can't ever be truly sure until you ask... her?" she hazarded a guess at the gender of Elphaba's prospective date.

The Green girls cheeks darkened to a deeper hue of emerald and she averted her gaze to the window.

"Oh come on, Elphie! You can tell me!"

"She's beyond my station."

"Pffft, like that has ever stopped you."

"She hasn't even noticed my affections."

"Have you made them openly, I'm around you all the time and I certainly wasn't aware of you being affectionate toward someone."

For a moment Elphaba's face scrunched up and it was hard to tell if she was trying not to scream or trying not to laugh, finally she broke the contorted expression with, "I'm GREEN!"

Galinda blinked. "An excellent observation to make about yourself, but I really hope you realized it before now, Elphaba."

"No, Galinda, think! Use that brain you pretend not to have; I'm green, no woman of social status and upbringing wants to be seen at a party with someone like me!"

"How do you know until you ask?"

"Would you go with me?!"

"Wh-what?" Galinda sputtered, her voice suddenly a bare whisper, her cheeks reddening.

"See?! That's the exact sort of response she would give me if I asked her." Elphaba explained, crossing her arms over her chest with a scowl.

The blush fled from Galinda's cheeks and her heart slowed down as she realized Elphaba was just making a point, not actually asking her to go. For a moment she was quiet, wrestling with her own mind. She felt strange, she felt... Disappointed? Could she be disappointed that she wasn't being invited by Elphaba? She already knew she could get a date, all she'd have to do is bat her eye lashes at a handsome boy and he'd invite her in the blink of an eye so why was she upset about this? Finally she pushed the question back and gave her attention back to her friend. She was slightly alarmed to find Elphaba staring directly into her eyes now.

"What?" Galinda asked in surprise, "What is it...? Is my make up smudged?" She asked, pausing to glance toward her mirror.

Elphaba sighed and looked away, drawing Galinda's gaze back to her again. "Elphie what is it?"

"Never mind, Galinda... Just, trust me. The womans' out of my league, I'm below her standard, and she doesn't even seem to be aware of my existence. There's just no point in bothering, why hope for something you can't have?"

Galinda frowned at this and suddenly grabbed hold of Elphaba's shoulders. "Don't talk like that! Elphaba, you have spirit, ambition and dreams I could never concoct in my own mind! You're one of the most inspiring, intrepid, inviting women I have ever known! Anyone would be lucky to have you, regardless of who they are."

". . .Even you?"

Once more Galinda felt her cheeks flush, her heart raced and her words ceased to obey the commands of her brain. "Me?" She said at least, in a tiny voice.

Elphaba was staring at her again, but it wasn't an uncomfortable stare. It was soft, delicate... Longing. How long had she been receiving stares like these from her room mate without ever noticing them, she wondered, while Elphaba slowly reached out a hand to her. She felt the green girl's palm upon her cheek and found herself leaning into the touch without thought of hesitation. For such a pointy, hawkish creature, Elphaba had very soft, gentle hands.

"I'll go... If you'll go with me." Elphaba declared in a quiet, uncertain, voice that Galinda was not used to hearing from the viridian skinned creature.

For a long moment, too long for comfort in Elphaba's opinion, Galinda was silent. Finally, a smile broke over the bubbly blonde's pink lips. "What will you wear?"

"I don't know... I don't have anything suiting."

"...Then I'll make you something!"

"What?" Elphaba asked, unable to hide a laugh and grin.

Galinda pouted. "I can do it! I've been practicing!" At that Galinda jumped to her feet and rushed to the far corner of her side of the room, there Elphaba noticed a dress maker's dummy she'd never noticed in the room before, how long had that been there? Surely, surely Galinda had not planned all this, surely the blonde had not been so cunningly deceptive as to plan out this entire thing?

"Come on, Elphie, just give me one of your frocks!"

Elphaba sighed, pulled away from her internal wondering, and rose from her bed to retrieve a frock from her closet. She surrendered the oldest and most frayed of her simple outfits and Glinda swift fitted it onto the dummy with practiced precision. Galinda looked the dummy up and down and clapped her hands together excitedly.

"Perfect! And now, Elphie, thanks to you I finally have an excuse to use my new wand!"

"Wand? Galinda, you know they taught us wands aren't necessary for spell work." Elphaba explained with the patronizing patience of a mother explaining something to a slow-witted child.

"Yeeeeees." Galinda replied with the same air of patient impatience. "But, they **also** said that a **real**—one properly made and enchanted—can increase the power of a spell exponentially!"

"Galinda, they don't make real wands anymore, they told us that too, remember? Whatever you've bought is probably a forgery, cheap wood and glitter to distract someone from it's useless capabilities as nothing but a stick of wood!"

For a brief moment Galinda looked very very hurt. Elphaba assumed it was from th realization that she had just thrown away what was likely a great deal of money on something utterly worthless.

"This wand," Galinda declared, pulling a recently delivered package out from under her bed with an air of reverence and respect. "Is special!"

"Really?" asked Elphaba skeptically.

"Yes!" Galinda snapped, shucking the delivery paper away from the long box. Beneath the wrapping the box was beautiful polished quaxwood with a gold engraved inlay at it's corners. It featured silver hinges and a lock, the key for which Galinda with drew from a thin silver chain hanging in her... In her cleavage, which Elphaba was momentarily transfixed by before managing to turn her attention back to the box.

Galinda put the key in the lock, but didn't yet open it. "This wand," she explained more calmly, looking sharply at Elphaba. "Belonged to my great grand mother."

Elphaba's eyebrows jumped. This was an interesting statement for her, especially given their recent studies of magical effects upon the body. They had learned that it was a strange truth in Oz for death to be completely avoidable, although learning how to do it was an extremely difficult challenge. It all involved very complex mystical and philosophical theory based upon the complex principle that death only came because it was accepted an an inevitability. If you could master this concept, and learn how to harnessing it's magical potential, old age ceased to be a threat to you, even injury ceased to be a true threat. The trick, though, was that it came at a high price.

You could learn to stop death, that alone was extremely difficult, but that was considered the easy part of it because even once you learned how to stop death you still couldn't make yourself safe from harm. Immortality did not mean invulnerability. As a result, if you were—for example—to have your hand severed while working in a lumber mill, there was nothing to be done for it. In order for it to heal or be successfully reattached you had to let your body begin to age once more, if you didn't... Well then, you were in for a life of pain and agony due to a missing limb that no one could do anything to fix. In the same way, more grievous injuries were just as painful as ever, but no longer life threatening. This meant that if you were in the woods and got mauled by a bear, who then proceeded to brutally disembowel you, you wouldn't die... You'd just lay their, screaming in pain until it overwhelmed your brain and you lost all sense of thought, only once you lost your sanity would the spell and, allowing you the small consolation of death after a brutal ordeal.

Only those with a university education were given the chance to learn how to master this strange principle of magic, the principle of eternal life; and only the truly brilliant, broad viewed, and open minded could master the principle well enough to call themselves immortals. Some families mastered the art perfectly, and passed their knowledge down from generation to generation, other families didn't even know such spell craft existed—much less how to use it—and they lived their simple, short lives like normal.

Because of this, Oz could become a very nasty place when it came to crime, punishment, murder, and war. No one could ever be certain if they dealing with a normal person, or a person who knew the principle of eternal life; many who learned the principle still allowed themselves to age gradually, which gave them an appearance of age and wisdom without losing the vigor and vitality of youth. Anyone who had mastered the principle was nearly impossible to kill, and because of it, methods of death were extremely harsh.

The first, and simplest, was beheading. Next there was asphyxiation, through drowning, or strangulation, and finally the most gruesome of all... Combustion. All four methods involved one simply principle, destroying or shutting down of the one thing necessary to maintain control of the eternal life principle; the brain. Without rational thought there was no way to think of the equation and keep yourself going. Destroy the brain, and life ends. In the same way, extreme punishments by the law enforcement of Oz usually involved psychological and physical tortures meant to drive the prisoner mad; this was an alternative way to end use of the life principle without actually ending the person's life.

If this wand really did belong to Galinda's great grandmother it could be hundreds of years old, assuming she was skilled enough in sorcery to master the principle. That meant that the wand would, indeed, be one of the finest in Oz, crafted before the arts of true wand crafting were lost to the world. Galinda slowly turned the key in the lock and opened the box. Inside, cushion by blue velvet, was a beautiful wand. It was roughly 4 and a feet tall, perfect for use as a decorative walking stick by an elegant woman of Oz when out and about, allowing the wielder to never be apart from the wand. It's shaft appeared to be cast from True Silver, an ancient mineral considered to be perfect for channeling magical energies; and it's top was a decorative pentacle star, of the same rare metal, with it's inner core filly by beautiful ivory. In the lines of true silver that made up the trim of the star ancient mystical writing could be seen, but it was in such old lettering that neither girl recognized it yet and would likely need a great deal more training in magic before they'd be able to read the long dead language.

"Sweet Oz, Galinda... It's beautiful." Elphaba gasped.

"I know." Galinda whispered in quiet reverence as she withdrew the wand from it's box. "I **loved** this wand as a girl, Elphie. My mother inherited it from my great grandmother—she was in a boating accident." Glinda explained the death at Elphaba's questioning look. "When Momsie found out I was studying sorcery she was thrilled. She sent this to me, and told me not to use it until I'd practiced enough to understand what I was doing."

"And you're certain you know what you're doing now...?" Elphaba asked, "I just mean I'd hate for something to go wrong and the wand to be damaged!" Elphaba added hastily at seeing the sour expression cross Galinda's pretty face.

"I know **exactly** what I'm doing, Elphie. Now stand back, and watch!" Galinda declared, raising the wand like a fencer with a rapier, and aiming the star-prong tip at the frock upon the dressing gown.

The two girls could almost feel the air shift. Galinda's lips moved like the flutter of butterfly wings, her words impossible to hear they were spoken so quietly. Before her eyes, Elphaba watched her dusty old frock begin to transform, like a fairy god mother in a magical fairytale Galinda turned the ratty old cotton weave frock into a luxurious black ball gown made of dozens of well placed folds and creases, trimmed with silk and lace in hues of dark green, purple, and blue. It was a beautiful patchwork outfit that seemed uniquely suited to Elphaba's strange, eccentricities. As Galinda finished her work she righted her wand and brought it to rest in her hands. She approached the gown alongside her green friend and the two inspected it together.

"Well... What do you think?" Galinda asked at last, daring a glance at Elphaba in hopes that the other woman would approve. She could see Elphaba's lips pressing, withholding a well of emotion because of her nature. The green girl finally looked at Galinda and smiled. The sort of touched smile that usually was accompanied by grateful tears, but not on Elphaba's cheeks. She simply stepped forward and pulled the much shorter woman into a tight hug. Galinda beamed with pleasure, but it wasn't for her own success. Her heart hammered and her stomach turned to butterflies as she realized what brought her such pleasure was simply being embraced by Elphaba.

"So, does this mean you'll come with me?" Galinda asked hopefully, slightly worried that Elphaba might still try to back out of going with her to the ball.

"I still don't think I'll fit in there... I'm not even sure if I'll fit in wearing a dress this beautiful."

"Oh! Oh, oh, wait! Wait, wait, I know!"

Suddenly Galinda flew to the trunk at the foot of her bed. She set her wand on her bed as she threw open the trunk and began to dig through it like a dog in the flowerbed. Finally she gave a triumphant cry. Galinda rose from her chest holding something black and jagged. She hugged aside of the black thing and gave her hands a flick, unfurling the strange object. Elphaba realized that it was a hat, a very old fashioned wide-brimmed pointed hat, commonly worn by the wizards and witches of ancient Oz.

"This old thing is woefully out of style, Elphie... But it's **perfect** for you; it is! It's just what you need to bring that look together, you'll fit right in, you'll look just as ridiculously lavish as the rest of us!" Galinda declared with a playful smile, prancing over and shoving the hat on Elphaba's head.

Elphaba looked at herself in Galinda's mirror and adjusted the hat slightly so it rested at a slight angle upon her head. She took off her glasses now that she was no longer reading and gave herself a more scrutinizing look, smiling slightly when she saw Galinda straining on her tippie-toes to see over Elphaba's shoulder into the mirror.

"All right, Galinda... You win. I'll go."

There was a sudden squeal and Elphaba hit the floor with a grunt, pounced upon in a gigantic hug from the diminutive blonde.

_**~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ OZ ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~**_

AN:

For those of you who wonder where the idea for the Principle of Life came from, I read somewhere that when L. Frank Baum was first writing the books he wanted to find a way to keep the young readers from fearing for the lives of Dorothy and her friends and thus he tinkered with the idea of death being a sort of 'choice' in Oz, where you could willingly choose whether you wanted to pass on or not. I found the idea interesting and decided to tinker with it a bit myself... My take is probably a fair bit more gruesome than LFB's probably would have been, but it seemed in keeping with the nature of Wicked, and helped to explain why so many deaths in this place are so horrifically gruesome.


End file.
